Can you explain Sai Baba's idea that knowledge is 'self-existent' and not something to be achieved?

Sai Baba's teaching, as detailed in Chapter 39, posits that Knowledge is not an external goal to be achieved but an inherent, self-existent reality of our being. He states, 'Knowledge is not something to be achieved; it is already self-existent.' The only obstacle to experiencing this reality is Ignorance (Ajnana), which he describes as a covering, like a film over the eye or rust over gold. Using the analogy of seeing a snake in a rope, he explains that the 'knowledge' of the rope is not created; it is simply realized once the ignorance that caused the illusion of the snake is removed. The process, therefore, is not one of acquisition but of removal. When the ego dissolves and the veil of Maya is removed by the Guru's grace, what remains is the natural, unobstructed Knowledge of the Self.